Project Summary

1. Project Identification

Name	Prospect Island Restoration
Region	Southwest
State	CA
Location	Solano County, California
Date of this update

2. Problem(s) addressed:

Wetland, riparian and upland habitats are required habitats for almost all of the Delta fish and wildlife. Less than 4% of the Delta's original wetland habitat remains. Restoration of Prospect Island would increase wetlands in the Delta by 9%.

3. Project Description (100 words or less. Please include qualitative information, e.g. acres of habitat restored, miles of steam reopened to migration, and legislative authorization, e.g. WRDA, ISTEA, CWA/NEP, CZMA, etc.)

Prospect Island is located in the northwestern part of the Sacramento - San Joaquin River Delta about 6 miles north of Rio Vista, and 20 miles south of Sacramento. It is located in Solano County, CA. It is bordered on the west by the Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel, to the east by Miner Slough, to the south by the confluence of Miner Slough and the Ship Channel and to the north by remnants of Little Holland tract. The entire island is about 1600 acres. The study area is about 1300 acres. Prospect Island is located in the State Of California in the 3rd Congressional District.

The reconnaissance study was initiated in April 1994, completed in April 1995, and was approved. The sponsor requested that the project be pursued as a Section 1135 of WRDA 1986 project. Prospect Island was approved as a Section 1135 project on 26 December 1995, however, Federal funding was not available to initiate the project modification report (PMR) until August 1996. The US Fish and Wildlife Service would operate Prospect Island as part of its North Delta Refuge Unit. Local support for this project is extremely high.

In May 1996, the non-Federal sponsor for Prospect Island, DWR, received their non-Federal portion of the cost share for Prospect Island from Category III of the CalFed Bay-Delta Program. The Bureau of Reclamation purchased the property in January 1995.

The purpose of this project is to provide rearing habitat for endangered winter-run chinook salmon and other anadromous fish, spawning and rearing habitat for Delta smelt and proposed Sacramento splittail, habitat for federally listed waterfowl and shorebirds on the Pacific Flyway and to provide high quality riparian, shaded riverine aquatic, wetland mudflat, emergent marsh, upland and shallow water habitat for a wide variety of aquatic, avian, and terrestrial species. Furthermore, the project should not cause adverse impacts to the levees of surrounding islands or to other surrounding features. Currently the island is farmed and provides very little wildlife habitat.

These objectives would be reached by constructing interior islands within Prospect Island, stabilizing the existing levees by contouring the slopes to a 10:1 pitch, stabilizing the levees and islands with biotechnical plantings and hydroseeding the remainder of the site above the high tide line. Then, the ship channel and Miner Slough levees would be breached in one place each, restoring full tidal action to the site. Islands would be located so that they act as a windbreak, preventing long fetch lengths from developing. Islands would be constructed so that upland, riparian, shaded riverine aquatic, riparian, emergent marsh, mudflat and open water habitats would grow at the appropriate tidal elevations. A channel would be excavated connecting the two breaches. The excavation would provide material needed to construct the islands and exterior levee embankments. The channel itself would provide a flow through, facilitating the movement of water through the site and discouraging predator fish from taking up residence in the site. Water in the site would be replaced daily by tidal action.

4. Goals/Benefits (quantify where possible using measures of success list) Was a cost-benefit study conducted for this project? yes/no If yes, provide a summary of findings.

1309 acres restored. 229 acres riparian, 60 acres upland, 600 acres open water, 260 acres freshwater marsh, 160 acres mudflat, about 1 mile of shaded riverine aquatic habitat.

5. Partners (include each participant's responsibilities - funding, permitting, etc.)

• Federal

  Lead:	US Army Corps of Engineers, funding, design, NEPA and all other Federal Regulations, project management.
  Others:	US Bureau of Reclamation, land ownership, geotechnical exploration, hydrology. US Fish and Wildlife Service, long-term O&M.

• Non-Federal

  State government	DWR, funding, partnering, geotechnical exploration, hydrology. Interagency Ecological Program, fish monitoring.
  Local government	CalFed, funding.
  Private industry
  Public interest groups
  Educational Facility
  Other partnerships

6. Funding/Contributions (organization and amount)

• Cash

  Federal	$0
  Non Federal	$2.5 million
  Total	$1.25 million total project cost, $1.25 million O&M endowment

• In-Kind Services (hours, equipment, or other forms of assistance and estimated dollar value)

  Federal: $3.75 million

• Volunteers (number of people and hours, and estimated dollar value)

  0 hours

7. Legislative authorities used by each participant

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8. Value added by Coastal America Partnership including Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals achieved through this collaboration (500 words or less)

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9. Project Status

Initiation date	April 1994
Completion date	The year 2,000
Current stage	underway

10. Contacts

• Project Manager

  Ms. Lena Hsia
  Study Manager
  US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)
  (916) 557-7117
  (916) 557-7856 (fax)

• Participating Agency/Organization Contacts: (e.g. volunteer groups, conservation groups, state agencies, and other federal agency contacts)

11. Any additional information/comments

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This page was last updated on Saturday, 24-Jun-2000 11:48:49 EDT
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